Complementary approaches to back pain:
Two licensed occupational therapists in New York City, Jane Gatanis and Alyssa Frey developed in 1996 a succesfull techniques to complementary approaches to chronic pain. Soon they found themselves successfully treating some of the hospital's most difficult-to-resolve cases of chronic pain.
Their methods work, they say, because they address a contributing factor of pain that so many doctors and patients ignore: emotions. "I have come to believe that about 95 percent of chronic pain has an emotional component," says Gatanis. "Emotions and stress can either initiate the pain or exacerbate it."
"There is actually more scientific evidence that mind-body approaches can be useful for pain than there is for most of the drugs we prescribe," he says.
Fix Bad Posture
Poor posture can play a major role in chronic pain, causing tension along your spine that can make your neck, shoulders, back, and legs hurt, say Gatanis and Frey. It also restricts your breathing, reducing the circulation of the blood and oxygen your body needs to resolve inflammation and tension in your musculoskeletal system.
The Body Alignment Exercise, which you can perform in less than one minute, realigns your posture and deepens your breathing, say Gatanis and Frey. But it does more than physically correct your posture. Repeated practice of this exercise will teach you to pay attention to specific parts of your body and make you aware of how each part feels--an important step for pain sufferers, who often try to forget that those aching parts exist.
At first, do this exercise five times a day for two weeks. Later, use it two or three times per day. You can do this exercise almost anywhere, like while waiting in line at the supermarket.
1. Start with your feet firmly planted, about 6 inches apart. Make sure your ankles are parallel to each other and your kneecaps are facing front. Don't lock your knees; keep them slightly bent. Try to keep your weight equally distributed: Imagine that your big toe, little toe, and heel are the three legs of a stool that bears your weight evenly.
2. Place your arms at your sides with your palms facing forward; this position rotates your arms so that your chest is more open.
3. Use your lower abdominal muscles to gently pull your belly up and in. Your abdomen should flatten only slightly; don't shift the position of your lower back dramatically. Hold this position for 5 to 10 seconds while breathing normally.
4. Drop your shoulders down and back, and lift your chest slightly upward.
5. Imagine that your head is floating over your spine. Move your chin in slightly toward your neck and chest. Picture your upper spine lengthening.
6. Breathe in deeply for 5 counts, and exhale for 5 counts; as you inhale, relax your upper abdominal muscles so the lower portions of your lungs fill with air.
Release Potent Energy
Acupressure, a self-care technique, involves using your hands to apply pressure to specific energy points on your body. It's similar to acupuncture but without the needles. According to practitioners of traditional Chinese medicine, manipulating these energy points frees blocked qi (or life energy), helping your body to heal. While much is still unknown about these points, researchers have found that acupuncture is an effective remedy for the discomfort of ailments like low back pain and headaches.
These three acupressure exercises are for chronic back pain, headaches, and neck pain. For information on acupressure for other types of pain, Gatanis and Frey recommend Acupressure's Potent Points: A Guide to Self-Care for Common Ailments (Bantam, 1990) by Michael Reed Gach. Practice these exercises daily.
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